Illinois Office of Tourismhttp://www.adweek.com/taxonomy/term/17654/all
enAd of the Day: Mary Todd Joins MiniAbe in Officer and a Gentleman Spoof for Illinoishttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-mary-todd-joins-miniabe-officer-and-gentleman-spoof-illinois-160248
Tim Nudd<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/mini-abe-mary-todd-hed-2014.png"> <p>
MiniAbe Lincoln has been <a href="/node/152871">screaming</a> and <a href="/node/156539">whoa-ing</a> his way around Illinois for over a year in ads for the state&#39;s tourism office. But he settles down in the latest spot from JWT Chicago&mdash;thanks to the love of his life, Mary Todd.</p>
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Todd was notoriously melancholy for most of her adult life. And no wonder. It turns out she worked in a bleak cubicle in a nondescript office, pecking away on a keyboard that was way too big for her.</p>
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But along comes MiniAbe to whisk MiniMary offer her feet, quite literally, in this amusing spoof of the over-the-top <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfnqDdpp9cs" target="_blank">final scene from An Officer and a Gentleman.</a></p>
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The spot is meant to get boomers, Gen X-ers and others to &quot;whisk someone away&quot; this fall and enjoy romantic attractions in Illinois.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KhZet-jPCyQ?rel=0" width="652"></iframe><br />
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<strong>CREDITS</strong><br />
Client: Illinois Office of Tourism<br />
Agency: JWT Chicago</p>
Advertising & BrandingAbraham LincolnAd of The DayIllinois Office of TourismJwtTourismTim NuddAgencyFri, 19 Sep 2014 18:43:37 +0000160248 at http://www.adweek.comFellas, Bill Kurtis Wants You to Go on a Mancation to Illinois With Himhttp://www.adweek.com/adfreak/fellas-bill-kurtis-wants-you-go-mancation-illinois-him-158980
Gabriel Beltrone<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/blogs/kurtis-mancations-hed-2014.jpg"> <p>
Legendary anchorman Bill Kurtis is a man&#39;s man. Just ask Ron Burgundy ... or the Illinois Office of Tourism.</p>
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A new campaign from JWT Chicago features Kurtis, a veteran Chicago journalist best known today for hosting cable crime shows like Investigative Reports, Cold Case Files and American Justice. This time we see a new side of Kurtis, pitching his home state as an ideal destination for &quot;mancations&quot;&mdash;getaways that focus on stock car driving, gambling and&mdash;wait, wait... don&#39;t tell me&mdash;golf.</p>
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These trips are cast as reciprocation for womanly leisure activities like book clubs, because, the argument goes, if a guy suffers in the name of love through a sentimental novel, he should be rewarded.</p>
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Kurtis oozes charisma, and the message is certainly more down to earth than<a href="http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/miniabe-explores-more-illinois-and-couldnt-be-more-whoa-ed-156539"> the zany miniature replica of Abraham Lincoln</a> the state has been using to appeal to potential visitors. The world didn&#39;t really need another advertising portmanteau, but the real risk for the brand is that Kurtis&#39;s outsized personality eclipses a concept that, at its core, doesn&#39;t add much new to the<a href="http://jezebel.com/manly-brands-have-no-idea-how-to-talk-to-men-1596492838" target="_blank"> resurgent trend of testosterone-drenched advertising</a>.&nbsp;</p>
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Then again, if a person in a bear suit playing a bugle comes standard with vacations to Illinois, sign me up.</p>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CrmsH5EN6yw" width="652"></iframe></p>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3fQ5MM01HKE" width="652"></iframe></p>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bQUJPpc_XhE" width="652"></iframe></p>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UhCoGfSZWAg" width="652"></iframe></p>
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CREDITS:</p>
<p>
Agency: JWT, Chicago<br />
Executive Creative Director: Dan Bruce<br />
Creative Director, Art Director: Terra Hambly<br />
Copywriter: Mike Beamer<br />
Group Managing Director: Erin Clark<br />
Account Director: Sarah Brick<br />
Account Executive: Kyle Piazza<br />
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Production and Postproduction:<br />
Director: Dan Bruce<br />
Production Company: One<br />
Executive Producer: Lisa Masseur<br />
Senior Producer: Sarah Slevin<br />
Line Producer: Alison Ginsburg<br />
Director of Photography: Kyle Bainter<br />
Editing Company: Optimus<br />
Producer: Tracy Spera<br />
Editor: Craig Lewandowski<br />
Assistant Editor: Ben Winter<br />
Audio, Sound Design: Marina Bacci<br />
Logo Animation: Tyler Nelson<br />
Explosion Animation: BlinkFarm</p>
Advertising & BrandingCelebrity EndorsementsIllinois Office of TourismJwtTourismCreativeGabriel BeltroneFri, 18 Jul 2014 13:16:09 +0000158980 at http://www.adweek.com'MiniAbe' Explores More of Illinois, and Couldn't Be More Whoa-edhttp://www.adweek.com/adfreak/miniabe-explores-more-illinois-and-couldnt-be-more-whoa-ed-156539
Gabriel Beltrone<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/blogs/mini-abe-hed-2014.jpg"> <p>
If you were a miniature version of Abraham Lincoln, you&#39;d be super excited about modern Illinois, according to the state&#39;s tourism campaign, which has brought back <a href="/node/152871">MiniAbe</a> for another round of quirky sightseeing.</p>
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It sort of makes sense, if you&#39;re arrogant enough to compare yourself to one of history&#39;s (and the state&#39;s) great figures but also humble enough to think of yourself as merely a downsized plastic replica.</p>
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MiniAbe channels Joey Lawrence in the new spot, from JWT Chicago, as he utters &quot;Whoa&quot; wherever he goes. The approach also makes the footage of tourist locations a little more rewarding than your average vanity shots. It&#39;s hard not to wonder though, if MiniAbe isn&#39;t a distant relative of whoever&#39;s driving London&#39;s <a href="/node/156484">little yellow street-cleaning submarine.</a></p>
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The &quot;Be More Whoa-ed&quot; campaign launched Monday in 16 U.S. markets and will reach the U.K., Germany, Canada and national cable later this spring and summer. A second spot in the spring campaign will break in early May.</p>
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Credits below.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/05Wv3LHIx_o?rel=0" width="652"></iframe></p>
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<p>
<strong>CREDITS</strong><br />
Client: Illinois Office of Tourism<br />
Deputy Director: Jen Hoelzle<br />
Assistant Deputy Director: Jan Kemmerling<br />
Marketing Manager: Lisa Link</p>
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Agency: JWT, Chicago<br />
Executive Creative Director: Dan Bruce<br />
Creative Director, Copywriter: Gary Korrub<br />
Creative Director, Art Director: Terra Hambly<br />
Executive Producer: Alec Pinkston<br />
Agency Producer: Carolyn James<br />
Group Management Director: Erin Clark<br />
Senior Account Director: Brendan Riley</p>
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Director: Seth Henrickson<br />
Production Company: Odd Machine<br />
Editor: Steve Morrison<br />
Director of Photography: Seth Henrickson<br />
Sound Design: Eric Cauwels, Chicago Recording<br />
Media: Maxus</p>
Advertising & BrandingAbraham LincolnIllinois Office of TourismJwtTourismPoliticsGabriel BeltroneAgencyWed, 26 Mar 2014 14:10:56 +0000156539 at http://www.adweek.comAd of the Day: Illinois Tourism Loses Its Mind With a Tiny, Screaming, Hilarious Abe Lincolnhttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-illinois-tourism-loses-its-mind-tiny-screaming-hilarious-abe-lincoln-152871
Tim Nudd<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/abe_lincoln_illinois_tourism_hed_2013.jpg"> <p>
You have to hand it to the Illinois Office of Tourism and JWT Chicago. They&#39;re not being overly precious with the image of Abraham Lincoln.</p>
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The Land of Lincoln rolled out a new tourism spot this fall starring &quot;Mini Abe,&quot; a tiny plastic version of the 16th president who is seen grunting, groaning and shrieking his way around the state&mdash;enjoying everything it has to offer, from riverboats and county fairs to the Willis Tower and Route 66.</p>
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&quot;Be more spontaneous this fall,&quot; says the on-screen copy line at the end, along with the enjoyIllinois.com URL and #MiniAbe hashtag.</p>
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The humor is undeniably odd, but it may be working. A spokeswoman for the tourism office tells the <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2013/09/27/illinois-and-mini-abe-prove-a-great.html" target="_blank">Chicago Business Journal</a> that tourism inquiries made through enjoyIllinois.com are up 57 percent over a year ago.</p>
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You might not have thought of Lincoln as the most spontaneous man in history. But Illinois Tourism and JWT made it clear that he had loosened up when they introduced Mini Abe back in February&mdash;in a one-off spot tied to Academy Awards.</p>
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That ad, also posted below, wished Abe good luck that night&mdash;and indeed, Daniel Day-Lewis was named best actor for playing him, though the film itself was beaten out by Argo.</p>
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<object height="367" width="652"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7u1hYL-2quE?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;controls=0&amp;rel=0" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="367" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7u1hYL-2quE?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;controls=0&amp;&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="652"></embed></object></p>
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<em>The earlier Oscars spot:</em></p>
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<object height="367" width="652"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5kXUCokpyKE?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;controls=0&amp;rel=0" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="367" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5kXUCokpyKE?version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;controls=0&amp;&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="652"></embed></object></p>
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<strong>CREDITS</strong><br />
Client: Illinois Office of Tourism<br />
Agency: JWT, Chicago</p>
Advertising & BrandingAd of The DayIllinois Office of TourismJwtTourismCreativeTim NuddThu, 03 Oct 2013 16:05:45 +0000152871 at http://www.adweek.com